over a decade in the film industry as an actress, screenwriter, and director before turning to penning novels. When she's not writing, she can be found hiking or on the beach with a good book. Wood currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and two daughters.
She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Sunburned, with the following results:
Page 69 of Sunburned is really a half-page, as it finds us at the beginning of Chapter 7. Our protagonist, Audrey, has been summoned to the swanky island of St. Barth’s by her ex-boyfriend Tyson, who has become a tech billionaire in the ten years since they broke up. Their relationship ended badly, and she wanted nothing more than to turn him down, but he’s being blackmailed about secrets they share, and has threatened to turn on her if she doesn’t help him find out who in his inner circle is extorting him.Visit Katherine Wood's website.
On page 69, Audrey has just retired to her bedroom at Tyson’s lavish island estate after a tense dinner during which she met all the suspects, including the brother who has always been in his shadow, the celebrity business partner he's been butting heads with, the gorgeous young wife whose wings he’s clipped, and the sexy French butler who seems to know more than he should. In this scene, Audrey is eavesdropping on a conversation between the brother and the business partner while texting with her best friend about what’s going on, and she uses their code word to let her know she can’t talk for fear of being surveillance… that code word? Sunburned––which is of course the title of the book.
Is page 69 the most exciting page in the book? Nope. At this point, our victim hasn’t even been murdered yet! Things are definitely gonna get twistier and more thrilling as Audrey tracks down the murderer before she becomes the scape goat… or worse, the next victim. But is this page on theme and does it give you an idea of where the book might go? Absolutely.
Q&A with Katherine St. John.
The Page 69 Test: The Vicious Circle.
--Marshal Zeringue
Posts
